Vineyard Celebrates Festive Fourth With Parade, Fireworks

Ferries are chock full, kids don American flag apparel, party hosts select patriotic menus, and participants in Edgartown’s Fourth of July Parade add last bits of sparkle to their floats. Parades, cookouts and fireworks are all on the agenda for the national holiday on Monday.

The Edgartown Fourth of July Parade steps off promptly at 5 p.m. The parade route is as follows: from the Edgartown School, it proceeds down the Edgartown-West Tisbury Road, turns right on Main street and left onto Pease’s Point Way. It takes a right onto Morse street, left onto Fuller street and later turns right onto Thayer street. It then turns right onto North Water street and right onto Main street, proceeding up the street the wrong way. It pauses in front of the courthouse at the reviewing stand, then continues up Main street, turning left onto the West Tisbury Road and then back to the school.

Flag flies outside Oak Bluffs police station.
— Timothy Johnson

Later there will be fireworks over Edgartown harbor at dusk.

Other holiday activities include a kids parade beginning at 10 a.m. at the Trinity Park Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs. The Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Association hosts the event; an ice cream party follows for participants. It is open to all Island kids and their parents.

In Aquinnah, at 11 a.m. the Old South Road Neighborhood Association will host the 13th annual Children’s Parade. Beforehand there will be face painting at the Goldfield-Mannion house on 5 Old South Road.

Later in the day all roads lead to Edgartown for the parade and evening fireworks.

Edgartown police chief David Rossi issued the annual public reminder on parking: downtown streets will be closed to parking beginning at 3 p.m. People coming into town are strongly advised to park out of town and walk, or use VTA public transportation.

Parking and assistance is available in town for people with handicaps.

“We try to do our best to accommodate everybody,” Mr. Rossi said. “We have been doing it for years. It is our biggest and most fun day of the year.”

Our family came to the Edgartown Parade about 4 yrs. ago on the 4th and stayed at a Bn B in Oak Bluffs. It is by far our favorite 4th we ever celebrated in our lives! My college age daughter texted me at 4 a.m. from Nashville today to wish me a happy fourth and remind us how that 4th in MV was the best we ever had. We decided we need to return again soon. You east coasters just know how to do the fourth better than the rest of us! Your patriotism out shines us all! Truly , you get how to be " Home Town America" like no one else!